Help fight a bad idea!!  Congress is soon to debate the Health Care Reform Bill, which is a great move towards increasing the number of insured Americans.  Unfortunately, it is filled with several bad ideas, like a taxation on patients who undergo cosmetic surgery.

This has been attempted previously in New Jersey, and has failed miserably- A government auditor will be the one to decide whether your surgery is cosmetic or reconstructive, a necessity or a luxury.  This tax additionally discriminates against women and the middle class, who are the two groups most likely to undergo aesthetic surgery.  Finally and most concerning, this taxation will encourage more patients to go overseas for their plastic surgery, inevitably resulting in more complications in patients returning to the US.  With treatment of these medical and surgical complications, health care spending with respect to these botched plastic surgeries is likely to INCREASE, rather than decrease.

Please- email and call your congressional representatives and Senators, and encourage them to oppose this taxation- it’s not only unfair, but unsafe for Americans.

Effective ways to reach your Members of Congress include:

1. Call your Senators and Representative’s District Office this week. Most legislators are home this week for the holiday break.
2. Call Your Senator and Representative’s Washington, DC Office (early and often).
3. E-Mail Your Senators and E-Mail your Congressperson.
4. For Patients: The U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-225-3121 where your patients can be connected to their Senators and Representatives. NOTE: The patient must know the name of their Senator prior to calling the switchboard; this information can be found at www.senate.gov (scroll by state). They can determine the name of their representative by going to www.house.gov where they can enter their zip code.

Yesterday the United States Preventive Services Task Force released new guidelines for recommended breast cancer screenings in women, revising the suggested age for mammograms to 50 from 40 and decreasing the frequency of such tests to every two years rather than the previous annual exam. This government-appointed panel of medical experts, which provides guidance on public health concerns to both doctors and insurance companies, found there was sufficient new data to warrant the changes in policy. These new guidelines do not apply to women who are considered to be at higher risk for breast cancer than the general population, such as those with previous chest radiation or a family history of cancer.

At the forefront of the new guidelines was data collected from studies conducted in England and Sweden, which indicated there was little increased benefit in yearly screening versus screening every two years. Meanwhile, multiple cancer-oriented organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, are strongly opposing these new recommendations.  As technology evolves, what is clear is that screening recommendations will continue to evolve.  New studies such as precision ultrasound and MRI are becoming increasingly frequent modalities for breast cancer detection, and this is particularly true in our local community where our breast screening radiologists are so well regarded.  As for my own recommendations, I feel that the needs for various screening techniques and protocols are specific enough from patient to patient that each individual should discuss the pros and cons of early mammography screening with their primary care doctor, and proceed in the manner that makes them most comfortable. My practice will continue to remain very involved in breast reconstruction until the day that we all hope comes, when those services are no longer needed.